Page 110 of Consume Me

“We’re not splitting up. Go in the van with your men. We’ll follow you to the airport,” Kaden says.

Maxim opens his mouth, surely to protest, when Kaden adds, “That was an order.”

Dane hops into the driver’s seat with Abi next to him in the passenger seat, and we move to the back. I wave at my father, who shakes his head at us. I shrug. We’re a team, and we’ll always return to this formula.

When Blake slides the door close, Kaden says, “Let’s survey the map and split the teams.”

On the plane, we all change into bulletproof combat gear so we can blend in.

An hour later, the plane lands on a secluded tarmac. This place is in the middle of Nowhere, Pennsylvania. The area is surrounded by snow-topped mountains and dense forests. We hop on ATVs and drive away from the plane, with security in front and behind us.

When Kaden lifts his palm, we stop, hop off the ATVs, and cover them with tarps. Bailey and I are next to each other. While I fly the drone, she analyzes the live feed.

In a gap surrounded by smaller mountains, I spot a cement structure that perfectly blends in.

“No guards,” Blake says, pursing his lips.

“That doesn’t mean anything,” Hunter says.

“Something is wrong,” Bailey says, her hands flying over the keyboard as she watches the thermal imaging. “I got some heat signatures from inside.”

We walk the remaining mile on foot, and Bailey stays behind with a guard. With guns drawn, teams A and B split up.

I am on team B with Blake, Abi, Dane, and four guards. We’re taking the left side of the building, which appears abandoned. Team A, with Celine, Kaden, Hunter, and the rest of the guards, heads to the right.

We regroup with the others at the front door.

“Clear,” Kaden says.

“Clear,” Blake replies.

Kaden walks in, followed by Blake, ready to shoot at any threat, but the building is empty.

“Get out!” Bailey yells over the comms, and both teams sprint toward the exit. A deafening boom erupts, the groundrumbling under our feet. As soon as we’re outside, the building explodes behind us, and we’re thrown to our backs like swatted flies.

My ears ring, and when I open my eyes, Blake is on top of me.

“Are you okay?” he asks, cupping my chin and scanning every inch of my face and body. I nod, still unable to hear anything but constant ringing.

Panic hits me, and I look around. Blood gushes from Abi’s hand, and Dane rolls out from under some rubble, grunting. He quickly rips his sleeve off and wraps it around her injury.

Celine cries out for Kaden, dropping to her belly in front of the thick of the rubble. She tries to drag him out, but two cement blocks keep him hostage. We all rush to help. It is pure luck that the blocks formed a triangle over his body instead of crushing him.

When he crawls out, Celine jumps into his arms, sobbing as he holds her tightly against his chest.

“I am fine. Sky, look at me.”

All my friends are alive, and the guards appear in good condition. I can finally breathe again.

We trudge back to the meeting point, and Bailey says, “I’m so, so sorry. I should have known. I…”

Hunter grips her chin, and whatever he says to her, it calms her down.

The drive back is spent in silence, all of us deep in thought.

“That was a trap, and I fell for it,” Bailey says once we reach the plane.

“You couldn’t have known. This is not your fault,” Celine tries to console her.

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